Tesla began rolling out a software update on July 31 that embeds ByteDance’s Doubao large language model into every vehicle it sells in China. Update version 2026.14.13 covers the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X, replacing Tesla’s existing voice assistant with a locally developed AI that handles vehicle controls and natural language conversations. Doubao supports up to 18 Chinese dialects and multiple voice tones, addressing a longstanding pain point for Tesla owners in China who speak Cantonese, Shanghainese, Sichuanese, or other regional languages. This marks the first time Tesla has handed over its in-car AI duties to a third-party LLM in any market. The deployment signals a shift away from a potential dual-model approach incorporating DeepSeek, consolidating around Doubao as Tesla’s primary China-market AI layer.
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